WHY ARE CAPOEIRISTAS AFRAID OF CAPOEIRA?

My "Negativa Applications" video has caused quite a stir amongst a number of Capoeiristas on Facebook, Google+ and in various online communities. I find myself heartened by the positive energy, piercing intelligence, perceptiveness and encouragement offered in these discussions by my growing list of supporters. I also find myself alternately amused by and smh@ some of the comments that my detractors make.

Basically, my detractors think that Capoeira is a beautiful acrobatic calisthenics routine practiced to Capoeira music in a roda. Contact is very rare, functional training is essentially nonexistent. True sparring is forbidden. Candomble is nowhere to be found. What these detractors practice by and large is a Capoeira influenced musical fitness workout.

While they are doing this Capoeira influenced workout, they sing songs about actual Capoeiristas who actually fight and who actually detailed their fighting and living experience with Capoeira. At the end of the training session, they go home...satisfied that they're training in Capoeira.

If you are not sparring you are not doing Capoeira. If you do not study Candomble, are not aware of its history in Capoeira and in Brazil impacting literally every facet of Brazilian society [ not to mention being central to the legend of the world famous Capoeirista and first Flyer/Voador, Besouro, he with the "closed body" making him impervious to guns and metal weapons thanks to Candomble ] Candomble's central spiritual tenets and stories and the lessons that it can and did teach our ancestors who made it possible for us to train in Capoeira and trusted us with Capoeira and Candomble's safekeeping, you are not doing Capoeira. If you do not practice self defense, know that the hungu is the berimbau and that they are both wholly African in origin creation and purpose, know the songs of Capoeira, play in the roda, know the warrior history of Capoeira throughout the Western Hemisphere not just in Brazil [ as Capoeira developed independently in Haiti, Cuba, Martinique, Panama, the USA where it splintered into "Jail House Rock", "Kickin and Knockin", "52 Blocks", and that distinct footwork, punching and kicking style that Black fighters take to and add to other martial arts from boxing to whatever ], then you are not enjoying the full scope of Capoeira.

What you are doing is almost exactly what cardio kickboxers do. Except cardio kickboxers actually routinely hit stuff, and they know that kickboxing is supposed to be used for self defense, what they're doing can be marginally used for self defense, and their training is at least marginally functional. What most noncontact roda dancers do only gets them fit. They'll not only get smashed in a fight, they actually develop mindsets that's the opposite of and antithesis of self defense.

And they do all of this while they're singing the songs of Capoeira warriors who did the exact opposite of what these sincere, good hearted, completely deluded alleged "capoeiristas" are doing and being taught by their mestres.

Chokes, armlocks, throws, strangulations, bone breaking torques and holds? Capoeira has them. So-called boxing punches? Capoeira has them. Ground fighting and ground locks. Capoeira has them. Where do you think old skool Brazilian jiujitsu guys learned their fluid transitions? Didn't you notice that Gracie JiuJitsu and all of Brazilian jiujitsu was very similar to its self-defense Judo heart and soul until Waldemar Santana...a Black man, a Gracie student, a Capoeira Mestre...fought and defeated Helio Gracie with the Capoeira kick now known as a 'soccer kick' to the head.

http://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/waldemar-santana-profile

Capoeiristas have famously/infamously used this kick/stomp for centuries in self defense and street fights. In Rio and other places it was famously used by Capoeira Maltas, and used most famously by Madame Sataa as he fought and defeated an armed police patrol of 24 men.

From Waldemar defeating Helio up to the present day, GJJ and all of Brazilian jj not only got more fluid and smooth in its all of its movements, it also employed many many animal movements in its drills and execution lifted directly from Capoeira.

Here's an idea: instead of finding what you CAN'T do with Capoeira...which is next to nothing...why don't we try to use Capoeira's unparalleled movement vocabulary to find out what we CAN do with Capoeira...which is almost anything? Let's be positive and empowering. Wouldn't that be better? Thought so.